


Hidden damage

by FlyingDutchy



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Insecurity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-26 01:17:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13846995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingDutchy/pseuds/FlyingDutchy
Summary: Kara convinced the extended crew to join her and Alex for a day of relaxation on the beach. Alex is then put in an uncomfortable position by accident. Kara inadvertently reveals a secret when trying to comfort her sister.Now a One-Shot series!





	1. Chapter 1

She moved with the fluidity of a dolphin. She mastered the waves as they tried to pulled her under. The board under her feet was nothing more than an extension of her body. Muscles flexed under the tight wetsuit that fit snugly around every curve of her body. A wave collapsed around her, but it was not fast enough to catch her. She took its power and launched herself high into the air. The board got loose and her hands controlled it as she flipped. High in the sky, their eyes connected for a brief moment, and she found a wave to catch her fall. As that wave collapsed as well and no good ones could be found, she collapsed tiredly on her board.

“Your sister, she’s…”

“…hot?” Kara finished as she dazedly watched Alex lie exhausted on the board. Her sister flexed and then wrung the water from her hair. Alex’s wetsuit glistened as water droplets scattered the sunlight. Kara knew she shouldn’t leer, but she couldn’t help it.

“I was going to go with ‘crazy good’, but hot is a good descriptor.” Winn chuckled at her panicked expression. She was so busted. “Don’t worry, I can keep a secret.”

No, he couldn’t. Kara knew that Winn was the last person to entrust with any kind of secret. It was a miracle that he hadn’t broadcasted her real identity to the world yet.

Her eyes followed Alex’s every move. It had been a while since the DEO agent had found time to get on a board, which prompted Kara’s idea for a weekend at the beach. She’d pleaded with her sister, she said she loved the beach and really missed it from where they’d grown up. Alex, trepid at first, relented reluctantly, but she was clearly excited to surf again. Kara’s real reason she always loved going to the beach was much, much less innocent.

See, while Kara Danvers seemed like she was innocent and pure, she was anything but. During her teen years she loved watching Alex on the board. And not _just_ because she was good. Under the guise of being a supportive sister, amazed at Alex’s skills, she was able to watch unabashedly as Alex used her lithe body to bend the ocean to her will. It also helped that those wetsuits were as tight as her Supergirl costume. DEO training had filled out Alex’s body in ways that made it even harder for Kara to suppress those thoughts.

The whole gang had joined their little excursion. She'd managed to convince Lena to join, who invited Sam and Ruby. Naturally James and Winn joined as well. Vasquez, Lucy and J’onn came down from the DEO as well.

Distracted by her sister, Kara didn’t notice the volleyball before it was too late. It impacted hard on her head—she blinked once or twice. At the worried gasps, mainly from the few that didn’t know that she was pretty indestructible, she acted as if she was hurt, before calling out. “I’m fine!”

Footsteps closed in and Kara turned to see Lena’s apologetic face. “Are you sure? I hit it pretty hard.”

“I’ve got a hard head. I’m alright.” Lena bent forward to check the damage, and Kara diverted her gaze away from Lena’s red and very small bikini. Her eyes automatically found Alex, who had a frown on her face.

“You do seem alright.” There was a certain amazement in Lena’s voice. Kara wondered when Lena would find out she was Supergirl—it seemed inevitable at this point. “Want to join in?”

Kara shook her head. “Not my thing.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t like volleyball, just that her competitiveness could compromise her identity. If she spiked the ball just a bit too hard, it could enter a stable orbit around the earth. Instead, she joined the DEO crew. Lucy and Winn were pointedly not looking at J’onn, as Kara got close, she found out why.

“… I don’t know what’s wrong with these shorts. They are very streamlined.” The Martian and Director of the DEO had chosen to wear a dark blue speedo. She wished J’onn could use his mind powers on her to scrub this moment from her memories.

“Kara, did you ever go swimming on Krypton?” Lucy asked, after checking that Lena and Sam were out of earshot. Kara shook her head.

“The oceans were poisonous, dangerous, and not nearly as beautiful as these on Earth.” She remembered the first time she went to the beach. Kara had been amazed at all the sounds, smells, and views. And then surprised when the kids just jumped in—she’d almost gone after them to save them. Soon thereafter, the car accident resulted in Kara’s first rescue success. Alex still bore a scar on her arm. They hadn’t been on speaking terms before then, but her sister had still gone after her—perhaps to make sure she didn’t do anything stupid—and gotten herself hurt in the process. The first time of many.

“…Kara?” Lucy waved a hand in front of her face. She smiled sheepishly at the Major. “Where’d you go just now?” She relayed the first time she went to the beach.

“You’re still as impulsive as then.” J’onn shook his head but smiled fondly. “Alex was always encouraging you to try out your powers. The DEO had its hands full trying to prevent the news from spreading.”

Kara ducked her head, she hoped she looked contrite enough. “Sorry?”

Lucy laughed. “You don’t sound too sure about that.”

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Alex swim up to the shore. Her sister had a relaxed smile on her face, one that Kara hadn’t seen in ages. She congratulated herself on the excellent idea to go to the beach. A bit of R&R, shore leave, or whatever these military folks called it, had done wonders to the both of them.

Kara kept watching Alex as she got out of the water. She swallowed heavily when the brunette bent over to pick up her board. She also noticed that she wasn’t the only one distracted. Lena, Sam, Vasquez and Lucy all had their eyes focused on Alex—and half of them were straight, as far as Kara knew. Kara kicked the jealous emotions that rose up in an orbit around the sun, though they were bound to return like a boomerang. Alex wasn’t hers—not _yet_ , her mind replied—and if she was checking her out then she didn’t have a right to complain about anyone else doing the exact same thing.

“Awesome moves, Wise Danvers.” Vasquez held a hand in the air for Alex to high-five. Ruby, who had been playing volleyball with her mother and Lena, had dropped the game and ran to them.

“That was _so_ cool. I bet even Supergirl cannot do that.” Kara nodded along. She couldn’t do that indeed. She’d tried, on Alex’s insistence, but when a wave took her by surprise and she crashed _through_ Alex’s favorite board, Kara vowed never to do it again. Lucky for her, the incident was after they had reconciled their differences, because Alex’s self-control was stretched to its limits when Kara crawled out of the ocean with two halve surf boards instead of one. Kara had then spend all her saved up cash to buy a new one, which had made Alex cry—Kara was promised she’d meet a swift end if she told anyone about that part.

Alex smirked. “Next time you see her, you should ask if she can show you her skills on the board. You might be surprised.”

Kara glared with all her might and if looks could kill… wait her looks _could_ kill. It’s unfortunate that she loves her sister. Alex threw her a wink.

“Alex, you should get out of the wetsuit and get some tan on that pale body of yours!” Lena said as she and Sam joined their group. Thank Rao for Lena.

Alex hesitantly backed away. “I burn easily, so I don’t think…”

“I’m sure any of us wouldn’t mind to help you put on some sunscreen.” The images running through Kara’s head were not for the faint of heart. Lena and Sam both pinned down Alex and beckoned Ruby to pull the cord of fly on the back of the suit. Kara laughed at the situation at first, but then she saw that Alex was not comfortable at all.

It was too late to jump into action.

Ruby pulled down the cord and the suit came off easily. Kara swallowed, she’d forgotten about _them_.

Lena, Sam and Ruby fell silent. The sudden change in atmosphere also made the DEO crew look up.

All across Alex’s back were scars and blemishes. A long, thin scar ran along from the right shoulder to the left hipbone, clear across Alex’s back. A gunshot exit wound, just a small pink puckered round mark, was visible on the other shoulder. A large burn scar, one that had never healed fully, ran from the lower back to just the left part of Alex’s stomach. Smaller scratch marks, given to Alex by an alien whose venom had permanently damaged the skin, were found in between the larger ones.

Kara knew the story behind all of them. Alex had hammered—literally because Alex had threatened her with the closest tool she could find—it down that Kara was not allowed to feel guilty about them, even if she was the indirect reason for most and direct cause of one tiny scar—she’d slipped up and accidentally dropped Alex once when they were flying when they were very young. The damage had been minor but a scar still remained. Back then, Alex was almost unmarked.

“Shit.” She heard Lucy whisper softly. Alex, uncomfortable under the many eyes, pulled up her wetsuit and securely fastened the fly. She tried to act normally, getting a towel to dry her hair, but Kara noticed the slight tremble in the fingers.

Lena opened and closed her mouth a few times, an apology seemed to be stuck in her throat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“It’s alright. You didn’t know.” Kara saw it wasn’t alright. A pang shot through her heart at how Alex retreated in herself. She’d been having so much fun and the relaxed smile and loose shoulders were gone and had tensed up. “I’ll go and get some dry clothes.”

The brunette briskly walked away to where Kara had parked their car. Lena looked apologetic towards her. “Sorry, Kara, I swear I didn’t…”

She shushed her as well. “Alex is not angry with you. I’d forgotten about them as well.”

“You knew?” She nodded.

“Took care of most of them, even. Alex is very private about those things.” Kara could count the people who knew it on her hands. Her, J’onn, Vasquez, Eliza, and Alex’s doctors. Oh, and Maggie most likely. That’s not something Alex would be able to hide when—she stopped herself from finishing that thought. Kara didn’t like to think about Alex having sex with someone else.

Ruby had recovered the most. “I thought they were awesome. She fights alongside Supergirl without powers, but she doesn’t care. When I’m old enough I also want—”

“Not gonna happen.” Sam shut her daughter down. Kara agreed with Ruby, Alex was awesome and much more brave than she could ever be. And she has the scars to prove it. Unlike Kara, Alex didn't have the luxury of super powers that kept her safe, but that didn't slow her down in the slightest. She understood why Sam wanted none of that. 

Kara wanted,  _needed,_ to go after Alex to see if she was fine—well, Alex wasn’t fine, but maybe Kara could help. “I-uh-am going to get some stuff from my car.”

In a totally non-transparent manner, she fooled no-one, she hurried down the same direction Alex had left. She heard Sam and Lucy discuss the many scars they’d seen. Most were horrified and impressed at the same time. Sam and Lena were wondering why someone would do that to themselves, those who knew that Kara was Supergirl understood Alex’s motivations a bit better. Though she knew that even Eliza thought nowadays that Alex took protecting Kara a bit too far.

Kara agreed as well, but only because she didn’t want Alex to get hurt.

She found Alex at the convertible. She’d stripped out of her wetsuit and stood there in her bikini, looking at herself in the side mirror, which she’d turned for that purpose. With shaking hands, her sister was tracing along the large burn scar. She didn’t notice Kara, who snuck up on her and softly placed her hand on the scar as well.

Alex jumped up, startled at the intrusion, but then relaxed immediately when she saw it was just Kara.

“You got that one by shielding me from the blast of a Kryptonade with your own body.” Kryptonade wasn’t lemonade from Krypton. No it was a Kryptonite hand grenade. CADMUS had ambushed them and those grenades probably would have taken Kara out of the fight, but thanks to Alex she managed to capture a lot of enemy agents.

She moved on to the gunshot wound. She traced the raised, pink skin reverently. “You got this while I my powers were blown out last time.”

Alex reached over her shoulder and their fingers met on top of the scar. Kara had been angry, mostly at herself because in her sense of duty to help people she’d forgotten about the collateral. Alex had been angry at Kara too, not because she got shot, but because Kara had been too reckless and she could’ve gotten shot. “Yes, well, you can’t help yourself from getting into harms way. It might be for the best that you have superpowers, or you wouldn’t survive just for a single day.”

Kara laughed and pulled Alex in a hug. They went over them all therapeutically. Most were taken while on the job for the DEO. Kara found one that hadn’t been. A small scar on her arm from where a car door had hit Alex after Kara’s first rescue attempt.

“You wouldn’t have any of them, if it wasn’t for me.” Alex opened her mouth to protest, but Kara clamped her hand on it. “Yeah, yeah, I know. You’d do it twice over until your whole body was one big scar if you had to. You did it voluntarily, no one forced you. I know all that. You’re even proud of them, in some weird messed up way.”

Alex, indignant at not being allowed to protest, nodded.

“So why did you run just now?” She removed her hand from Alex’s mouth. Her sister looked away towards the blue of the ocean.

“Just because I would do it all again, doesn’t mean that I don’t find them hideous. Everyone that sees them, _everyone_ , finds them hideous.” Now it was Kara’s turn to protest. “I now you say you don’t, but I see you look sometimes when I’m changing and you don’t think I’d notice.”

Kara clamped her own mouth shut, lest the truth of those looks comes out. _Please don’t blush._ Her cheeks heated up but fortunately Alex was not looking at her.

“Even Maggie?” She grimaced at her own squeaky voice. If only she could just say that she hadn't been looking at the scars, but that she was simply ogling her sister. _Yeah, that would go over just swell_.

Alex nodded. “She was able to look past them, but it took a while. She would get a certain look every time—not quite one of pity or disgust, but something close to either or both. After a second, she’d move past that.” Kara understood what she meant by the pity part, because she was subject to the same whenever she told anyone that she was orphaned at a young age. It’s also why she didn’t mention that if she could help it.

“I don’t.” She couldn’t stand that Alex thought no one was immune. Kara forgot those scars existed most of the time and when she didn’t, she was never disgusted. If she was feeling self-depreciative, she would hate herself for what she’d put Alex through, and if she was happy, she would feel gratitude towards her sister. Mostly, whenever she was in a position to see the scars, her mind would wander to very different territories.

“I know you believe that.” Alex was facing her now. Alex would know if she’d been lying. “It’s why I don’t mind if you see them. Can you honestly tell me that, if you compare an old photo of me with unmarred skin, to this landscape of destruction, that you find this just a beautiful.”

Kara nodded. “I can, and I do.”

Brown eyes searched hers for a lie. Those eyes widened when they couldn’t find one. “You can?”

The truth was complex. Beauty wasn’t just defined by a single physical thing. While Kara had always found Alex beautiful when she was young, she found that Alex had matured into a more beautiful woman. She was more confident which showed in her stance, training at the DEO had given her a very fit body and Kara had always found mature features attractive.

“How honest do you want me to be?” Kara whispered. Alex cocked her head, they could always be brutally honest with each other. “I do find a fair skin more beautiful.” Alex winced. “Bear with me. You’re much, _much_ more than just your skin. I’ve always found you beautiful, and those scars were granular additions for me over the past years. Just like how your confidence increased steadily—except for some reason when it came to dating—or how your training at the DEO shaped your body. Or how you talk when you know your stuff. Or how you laugh. Or how your smile has become freer when you let down those walls. Or how you hold yourself as you walk. It’s _all_ those things combined.”

She took another deep gulp of air, an finally let out what she knew to be true. “If I saw two pictures of you side by side in bikini, then I’d definitely say that the one right in front of me is the more attractive of the two.”

“So you do find this skin ugly.”

Kara groaned. “Don’t just ignore everything I’ve said except for that one small point. Didn’t you hear me just proclaim that I find you extremely attractive and when I look at you while you’re changing it’s not because of those scars but simply that I can’t help myself at how terribly attracted to you I am?”

It registered just a moment too late that is was not an exact, word for word, repetition of what she’d said just before. Alex’s eyes had grown in size, her mouth was opening and closing like a fish gasping for air, while Kara had clamped her own ship and clasped both hands to keep it that way.

“Kara?” Alex managed to squeak out. “What are you… are you… are?”

The DEO agent sounded like a broken record. Her hands were hovering uselessly in the air, as if she’d forgotten what to do with them.

“Can we forget I said that?” Her voice was muffled by her hands. Alex shook her head.

“You can’t just drop something like that on my lap and expect me to forget it.”

“I didn’t mean—I mean, not that I didn’t mean what I said—but I didn’t mean to make this about me.” She pointedly looked at anything except for the brunette. Kara felt her sister’s eyes on her, she was glad, because that meant that Alex could still look at her after what she’d just admitted to.

She almost jerked back when she felt fingers tenderly cup her cheek. “Kara, look at me.” Alex’s eyes were soft and not at all judgmental. “I know what you meant and thanks, I suppose? It did make me feel better to know that someone as perfect as you finds me beautiful.”

Kara couldn’t suppress the blush. “Sorry.” She didn’t know why she was apologizing. “Just, if you feel like that, remember that you are beautiful. The scars are part of who you are and what you have done. And I love you for that. Not _only_ that, there's much more Like—.”

“Love you, too.” Alex cut her off with, silencing her with a finger on her lips. “Your opinion is the only one that truly matters to me anyway.”

The brunette had recovered from the initial shock of her revelation. Alex pulled Kara into a hug to calm her down. The hug was no different than before. She melted into Alex and, to her sister’s credit, nothing about her reaction told her that Alex saw their interactions in a new light.

“Shall we head back?” Alex nodded. The brunette looked at the shirt she had collected from the trunk. “It’s alright to wear a shirt if you feel uncomfortable. You don’t have to show them if you don’t want to.”

Quickly, Alex put on the shirt and a loosely fitting pants. She linked their arms together and they walked back to the beach. Alex leaned into her. “But you can’t ogle at me anymore now.”

She stumbled and let go of the brunette’s arm. The agent laughed. “Alex! That’s not… You can’t just…”  

With swaying hips and a relaxed smile on her face, Alex left her standing there, hypnotized by the way Alex moved purposefully. The strain in her shoulders was gone once again. Mission accomplished, Kara smiled.

Then she heard a soft and clear voice, exactly loud enough that only Kara would be able to hear it.

“Luckily I can still ogle you in your bikini and I don’t have to worry anymore about you catching me.”

 _Oh Rao, did Alex just…?_ Alex turned around and winked. _She did._

Maybe something had changed after all.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to add another one-shot, possibly set in the same universe but slightly later.

“Again!”

She pushed herself up with both arms. They shook under the exertion. Her blue suit shimmered with sweat as, causing her hands to slip and she collapsed face first on the ground. Her chest heaved, she’d never been this much out of air, she hardly even needed air. Once again, she tried to get up on all fours. With a grunt, she pushed herself up from the cold concrete floor. Her body was heavier than it used to feel like, and even this minor action took the most of her strength. Kara faced the ground, her blonde hair framed her face like a curtain, obscuring her vision of the wider room.

Something hard connected to her side and she was launched from her hands and knees. With a wince she slid along the ground until her back slammed painfully into the wall. Strands of hair stuck to the sweat on her face. With a trembling hand, she managed to pull them out of her eyes just in time to see the follow up punch.

Kara brought up her arms in an attempt to block it. They were swatted away and she took a strike to her ribs. A new burst of adrenaline kicked in and she clambered away from the third strike she’d known was coming. Suddenly she was on her feet again, licking her salty lips and breathing heavily.

Surprise was evident on her assailants face, but that quickly morphed into an appreciative nod. “Good.”

She didn’t have much time to catch her breath. The woman spun on her front leg and brought her hind leg up to strike down with the momentum of the spin and the force of gravity combined. A flash of black fabric struck down on her two arms. She collapsed under the force and—if the could bruise—supposed her arms should’ve been as blue as her suit.

“Wrong.” Kara knew she’d made a mistake when the she didn’t recover in time to block the second kick. It struck her in the center of her chest while her arms were still raised and hurting from blocking the first move.

She moved back with the force, reducing its impact on her body, and managed to stay upright by using her hands as support. The brunette in front of her still stood on one leg. Kara gathered her strength and rushed forward, intent on striking that single point of weakness. She sprinted and then kicked both legs forward. Even if the agent tried to block it, she’d be taken down.

Her opponent simply hopped. _Hopped._ Kara slid underneath the jumping agent and missed. Again, she found herself on the ground but now with her back facing her opponent. She tensed all her muscles and waited for the strike.

Instead, a soft hand touched her back. “I think this was enough.”

Kara let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding. Anticipating pain was something new for her—and today’s training session was especially brutal, with the Kryptonite set to fifty percent, instead of the normal twenty. This left her on exactly human level.

Footsteps moved away from her and she heard the sound of buttons being pressed. With a soft hum, the Kryptonite setting was lowered zero. Instantaneously, her strength returned and she could breathe normally again. Though she did feel tired.

“Are you better now?” She asked while getting up. She heard water sloshing down the sparring partner’s throat and she turned to watch the agent drink greedily from her water bottle. Some water droplets escaped and slid down the woman’s neck into the dark gray, tight fitting tank top that was drenched in sweat. Kara saw some of Alex’s pink scars on her arms glisten. Those scars reminded her why Alex was so angry with her right now.

Alex had _punished_ her for being so reckless.

Kara had almost died to one of Lillian’s creations, a kryptonite infused assassin from Japan, and Alex was angry at her. It wasn’t her fault that the Luthor woman was trying to kill her. Admittedly, it was her fault that she rushed in without back-up because she’d feared that Lena was somehow involved—she wasn’t—and missed the briefing that CADMUS had found a way to make synthetic kryptonite in small quantities.

So maybe Alex had a teensy, tiny, _little_ bit of a big reason to be angry with her.

Katana’s were sharp, after all, like a sword generally was. The cut she received was nasty—though it bled more than actually damaging her—but Kara still saw the look of sheer horror on Alex’s face as she had rushed in and found her covered in blood. Alex had unceremoniously shot the man, about twelve times, _exactly_ twelve times, because that was how many bullets were in that single cartridge. She’d been right on time—Kara was losing that fight.

“No.” Alex shook her head. Now, as she recovered from her beat down disguised as a training match, she saw that Alex’s hands shook continuously. Her foster sister flexed her fingers, trying to control her spasms, and frowned her hands when it didn’t work. Kara stepped forward and clasped them in her own. “I almost lost you. _Again._ ”

Alex had a reputation as a strong agent, a hard-ass, a rock, someone that the new recruits at the DEO had nightmares about, but this quivering girl was nothing like that person. Alone in the confines of the DEO training room for Kryptonians, surrounded only by metal walls, laden with lead, and a concrete floor, also laden with lead, she broke down.

“I _can’t_ lose you.”

“I know.” She held the woman close in her arms.

“You don’t _know_.” Alex kept shaking her head from left to right. “You need to become better. I need to make you better. You cannot, _cannot_ die.”

It was a mantra that Alex went through after every near death situation that she saved Kara from. First, Alex made sure Kara was alright, then she would hug and nurse her, then she would become angry and train her, finally she would break down and Kara would support her.

“I’m not your responsibility anymore, Alex.” She snapped a little bit too harshly and the brunette tried to pull back from her. Kara, no longer under the influence of kryptonite, held on tightly. It did make her angry too, sometimes. How Alex pulled everything toward herself, as if Kara had no agency of her own.

“No, no, you don’t know.”

“I do know. You want to protect me, it’s been taught to you, you view it as your one goal in life.” Alex shook her head as if to disagree with her. Her sister, brilliant and loving as she was, had the ability to become obsessed about things. As a teen, it was drilled into her head that she needed to protect Kara. Now, it seemed that this was all she could do. “And that’s fine. But you’re not at fault for my stupidity, I’m no longer thirteen and naïve.”  

Alex looked away, she couldn’t meet her eyes. In a soft whisper, she spoke next. “That’s not why.”

It was so soft, Kara would’ve missed it if she hadn’t been as tuned in to Alex as she often was. Alex cleared her throat and slowly disentangled herself from Kara’s grasp. Cold air quickly took the warm body’s place, and despite her kryptonian physiology, she shivered. Something whipped through the air and, with her lightning fast reflexes, she caught the towel mid-air. Mumbling a soft thanks, she dried the sweat from her face, legs, arms and chest.

Alex sat down on the bench, legs wide and arms resting on them. “Did you learn anything today?”

They would always discuss the training session afterwards. “Besides how angry you were?”

Alex barked a short, dry chuckle. “That didn’t even come close to how _scared_ I was.”

She had a pretty good idea how scared Alex was, but to hear her sister say it out loud meant that this time was different. Tentatively, she scuffled forward, ducking her head until she managed to sit between the spread legs. She faced her sister, but rested her head on one of Alex’s thighs. A hand found itself in her blonde hair and she leaned into it.

“Tell me.”

For a second she remembered Alex killing the assassin—and he was as dead as a dodo—and thought maybe Alex was worried about that, but Alex had killed before for her, and for others, but mostly to protect her.

Alex didn’t speak, but seemed lost in her mind as she kept caressing her skull with the hand that was buried in her blonde hair. “Al?”

“Don’t you think I know why you really keep rushing ahead?” Kara’s eyes snapped up. Brown accusing eyes bore into her blue ones. “That I hadn’t noticed it started after I was captured by our old classmate?”

“Coincidentally.” Alex scoffed.

“No such thing.”

Kara looked away, guilty as charged. “I didn’t—”

“I know you don’t think me incapable.” Alex interjected. “You just forget why I’m in this job in the first place.” To protect her, she knew that.

“You forget why I’m Supergirl in the first place.” She countered, adding a bit more force behind her words by squeezing Alex’s thighs with both hands—softly, of course. They both knew fully well why Kara decided to come out the closet, so to speak.

“I wouldn’t be nearly in so much danger if you had just stayed Kara Danvers.” She recoiled as those words struck her harder than the blows she had received during training. Hurt, she forgot that Alex would be dead if she’d stayed Kara Danvers.

“Yes, it would have been even better if I had blown up on Krypton with the rest of my kind.” Kara squeezed her eyes shut as they threatened to betray her. Alex forcefully removed her hands from her legs and stood up, pacing in the room.

“That’s not what I said.” Kara was hurt so she lashed out.

“You always said that I was the one with a hero complex. Pot meets kettle.” She turned on her heels and grabbed her normal clothes. As she made her exit, strong hands caught her by the biceps. Kara almost ripped herself free, but as she turned, she saw the unshed tears in Alex’s eyes. A look that was surely reflected in her own eyes. She didn’t even know why the conversation had turned so suddenly.

“I’m sorry.” Alex blinked and a tear escaped. On reflex, Kara brushed it away. “I didn’t mean what I said—about being in more danger now than before.”

“But it’s true.” Alex nodded to confirm it. It’s not that Kara hadn’t known, she just never thought that Alex viewed it that way. She had looked at her sister’s service record, the severity and number of injuries had increased rapidly since she became Supergirl.

“Correlation, not causation.” Alex said. “I was just angry with your recklessness that I conflated the two. And I’m a scientist, can you see my horror.” Despite herself, Kara chuckled at the mock self-deprecation.

“It hurt,” she saw Alex wince, “when you said that it’d be better for you if I weren’t out there saving lives.”

Alex shook her head, as if Kara had completely misunderstood there. “It would be better for _you_. You were happy, maybe not perfectly content, and most of all safe. I don’t care the slightest about what happens to me if it means you’re safe.”

 _Oh._ “But you care about other people too. You put yourself in harm’s way all the time and not just to save my life.” Kara tried to reason. For some reason, the fact that Alex did everything for _her_ and her alone was too much for her to carry.

“It’s not that I don’t care about other people, because I do.” Alex didn’t quite meet her eyes. Kara put her hand on the agent’s cheek, softly lifting her face and stepping closer, leaving Alex no choice but to watch her. The closeness of their faces made her blush. The next time Alex spoke, it was a soft whisper. “The only reason I work for the DEO is to make sure they never turn against you, and if they did, then I would have ample time to warn you and sabotage them. The rest is secondary.”

Kara rested her forehead against Alex’s. Their noses touched and their breaths mixed. Kara knew Alex was speaking from the depths of her heart, and that she was worried Kara would judge her. Alex’s bottom lip quivered, before she dug her teeth in it. Kara looked away from those lips and instead lost herself in those brown eyes. For a moment she lost herself in them—anyone that said brown eyes were bland had not looked into these specific eyes—that Alex’s worried gaze had turned even more sad and scared. Sheepishly, Kara smiled at the bundle of nervous, dark energy.

She did judge Alex. But not in regards to her motivations for joining the DEO, or not caring about other people as much as Kara felt obligated to help everyone she could. No, she judged Alex on her near self-destructive obsession with her. “You shouldn’t—I’m not worth anything more than you or anyone else.”

“But you are.” To Alex, this was a much of a fact as the Earth being round or the sky being blue. Kara opened her mouth to argue. “To me you’re worth more than everything else and that is why I do what I do.”

She wanted to say it was unhealthy. That no one’s life should revolve around a single person that much, but in Alex’s eyes she saw that the agent had had those discussion with herself before. Kara wouldn’t be telling her sister anything new. So she settled for simple gratitude. It was a simple move, just a turn of the neck, tilting her head just ever a bit upwards, their proximity had done most of the work.

She pressed her lips to Alex’s.

It wasn’t sensual, it wasn’t long, it wasn’t passionate. It was just a short peck, really.

“Thank you.” She said. When she opened her eyes again—she’d instinctively closed them during their short kiss—she saw all the worry and fear was gone from those brown eyes. A healthy blush had risen to Alex’s cheeks and she had pressed two fingers to her lips, as if savoring the touch. It was the first time she’d kissed Alex on the lips, despite having had the urge at least a dozen times.

“Thank _you._ ” Alex returned. “And I’m sorry for kicking your ass earlier.”

Kara barked a loud laugh. “Who says I didn’t let you win?”

Unconvinced, Alex narrowed her eyes. “You want to prove that assertion?” Kara gulped. Her ribs hurt at the mere thought. “Didn’t think so.”

Alex untangled herself from the embrace Kara had trapped her in. She moved to collect all her own gear and moved towards the showers. She stopped at the door and cast a glance over her shoulder. Brown hair framed her face and hid most of it from view, those inquisitive eyes found hers though. “Oh, and Kara.”

“Hm?”

“You can thank me more like that more often.” Alex had never blushed this hard, Kara noticed, not even when she’d talked about Maggie. Kara felt the heat rise to her own cheeks and, long after Alex had left her there, she still found herself smiling so broadly her cheeks hurt—which was an impossibility in itself, alien biology and all.

She would kiss Alex more often.

 _Thank_ Alex more often, she meant. Yeah, that’s what she meant. Obviously.

A bucket of cold water drenched her suddenly and completely. She liked to say she didn’t shriek. Her sister, emerging from the shower with an evil glint in her eye—wait how long had Kara stood there grinning if Alex managed to finish a shower—laughed at the undignified scream.

It was Alex’s turn to yelp as she rushed forward and tackled her to the ground. Having Alex trapped, she threw the slim body over her shoulder, though it wouldn’t have matter if Alex weighted a ton in this instance, and dragged her back into to the shower.

“Kara no—I don’t have any other clothes…” Alex trailed off as she saw that Kara had been carrying her own clothes when she’d thrown the bucket.

Murder Alex first.

Unapologetically, Kara turned on the cold shower.

Alex _hated_ a cold shower. Kara was certain any passerby would think the DEO agent was being tortured at the shrieks she let out.

Kiss— _thank—_ her later.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Short and fluffy. Hope you like it.


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